𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 ▸ W. TURNER

𝟻. 𝑎 𝑣𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑠

He'd known it was a long shot – Aoife had always been incredibly lax about most things, letting the two of them roam the streets of Port Royal without even batting an eyelid. But the moment she heard wind of her daughter's boots close to the water, the woman became a raging tempest. It made complete sense that Lillian would chose not to risk her mother's wrath. Aoife Lysander was a force of nature.

Will gave a heavy sigh and turned to the Captain, shaking his head in pure disbelief. "Well if anything you've proved they're mad." He muttered under his breath. Clearly, Sparrow didn't seemed as bothered by that fact as Will was, smile still curling his lips.

The two of them were broken from their bickering however, by a voice from the far end of the line. "What's in it for us!" They called, their tone loud and clear and unmistakeably female. Will's heart skipped a beat as his eyes travelled down the row and fell upon a wide brimmed hat. It was almost exactly the same as the one Lillian had donned when they were children. But of course, hers had been destroyed in one of the last street duels they'd been involved in. The first time she'd beaten him - although he'd never admitted it back then, of course.

Come to think of it, the voice wasn't hers either – there was no trace of the gracefully lilting accent she'd picked up from her mother. That didn't mean somebody didn't recognise it though.

Sparrow trod carefully down the jetty towards the figure, who's head was still bowed and concealed by the shadow of their hat, and Will and Gibbs followed. It was obvious to them all now that it was a woman, her arms crossed over her chest in a powerful and somewhat hostile stance. Will watched as the Captain tentatively leant forward to lift the brim, wincing as he realised exactly whose face was shrouded beneath it, before removing the hat entirely. A mass of brunette waves tumbled from beneath the brown leather and the midmorning sun beamed down upon the docks to reveal a young woman. Will thought she looked familiar somehow, although he couldn't quite put a finger on why. Captain Sparrow, on the other hand, appeared to know her perfectly well, and neither of them seemed happy about that fact.

"Anamaria." He barely had the time to greet her before the flat of her palm connected with his cheek, a resounding crack echoing on contact. Will's eyes widened, though by that point he'd become surprisingly used to displeased women taking out their anger on the Captain. It was becoming increasingly clear that his reputation amongst the ladies of Tortuga was not so great.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" Will questioned.

"No, that one I deserved." The Captain muttered sheepishly, shaking his head.

The young woman, Anamaria, Sparrow had called her, nodded enthusiastically in confirmation, eyes brimming with rage. "You stole my boat!"

"Actually-" The pirate began, but was almost immediately cut off by a second slap to the opposite cheek. Despite his belief that Sparrow had probably done enough to warrant the attack, Will couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor fellow.

"Borrowed...borrowed without permission." Will watched as the Captain continued to bargain with his angered acquaintance, though something causing a fuss further inland distracted him temporarily. A cacophony of screeching, followed by loud crashes was echoing from the cobbled streets which began only a couple of hundred yards away from the docks. There was no guessing what it could be – even after his short time in Tortuga, Will had already figured the pirate port was a place where practically nothing was impossible. That fact had been proven the moment his long lost friend had shown up with a loaded pistol to break up a bar fight.

Choosing to ignore the chaos currently ensuing in the streets, Will turned back to the Captain, who seemed to be only succeeding in angering the woman further. "Y-You'll get another boat....a better one!" He suggested tentatively.